USA

EU Suspends Counter-Tariffs for 90 Days After US U-Turn

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday the bloc will suspend a planned package of tariffs on US goods "to give negotiations a chance" after President Donald Trump's U-turn on massive duties. "While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for ...

Amazon Satellite Launch Scrubbed Due to Weather

Weather prevented a rocket carrying the first batch of Amazon satellites designed to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink from lifting off Wednesday, in a setback for the planned Project Kuiper network. "Stubborn cumulus clouds and persistent winds make liftoff not possible within the available window," read a liveblog update from operator United ...

US, Russia Meet in Istanbul for Talks on Embassies

US and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on restoring the functioning of their embassies, which drastically scaled back staffing following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The talks, the second of their kind, come after President Donald Trump reached out to Russia following the start of his second term and offered better ties ...

Pentagon Chief Says US Could 'Revive' Panama Bases

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth floated the idea on Wednesday of US troops returning to Panama to "secure" its strategically vital canal, a suggestion quickly shot down by the Central American country's government. Hegseth suggested during a visit to Panama that "by invitation" the United States could "revive" military bases or naval air ...

US Backtracks on Some Food Aid Cuts: UN

The United States has backtracked on emergency food aid cuts it announced for 14 countries, restoring assistance to six of them, the UN's World Food Program said Wednesday. The UN agency, already struggling with financing woes, said Monday that the United States advised it Washington was eliminating emergency food aid to those 14 poor and ...

Author of Explosive Meta Memoir Stars at US Senate Hearing

The former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about parent company Meta on Wednesday alleged that the social networking giant collaborated with the Chinese government on artificial intelligence, censorship and more, then lied to Congress about what it was doing. Former global policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at the company ...

Trump’s Tariff Disruption: Chaos or Strategy?

In the age of globalization, few leaders have dared to question the structure that underpins the modern world economy. Donald Trump didn’t just question it, he took a wrecking ball to it. His tariff-first economic approach, widely criticized as reckless, may actually represent the beginning of a hard but necessary conversation: Should America ...

Where Things Stand in the US-China Trade War

US President Donald Trump has ramped up his trade war against China, further raising import tariffs on Beijing to 125 percent despite pausing them for other countries. The move came hours after China announced reciprocal action against the United States in response to a previous levy hike. AFP looks at how the escalating trade war between the ...

Facing US Competition, EU Proposes Easing AI, Data Regulations

The EU said Wednesday it is considering streamlining artificial intelligence and data rules as part of a broader push to help European businesses keep up with US and Chinese rivals. The European Union long heralded its legal arsenal on tech as an example for the world, but the tone has shifted since the return of US President Donald Trump. Just ...

Iran Says Open to US Investment, Against Interference

President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday Iran has no objection to American investors doing business in the country but it firmly opposes any attempts at regime change or foreign interference. "The leader has no objection to the presence of American investors in the country," Pezeshkian said of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech ...

Japan to Sell More Rice Reserves as Prices Soar

Japan will sell more rice from its emergency stockpile through July in an attempt to stabilize soaring prices, the agricultural minister said Wednesday. After rice prices nearly doubled year-on-year, the government began auctioning its stockpile last month -- the first time since it was started in 1995. "In order to stabilize rice prices ...

Yemen Houthis Say US Strikes on Hodeida Killed Eight

Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday the number of people killed in an air strike on Hodeida the day before that they blamed on the United States has risen to eight. "The death toll of the American aggression in Hodeida rose to eight martyrs and 16 wounded, with rubble removal operations ongoing," the Houthis' Al-Masirah TV ...